Christie leaves gun in holster

On Thursday, the Christie administration announced it would be deploying state troopers in Trenton's "war zone" to stem the city's bloodiest year on record - 30 homicides and more than 150 shootings to date.

On Friday, Gov. Chris Christie vetoed three of four pieces of gun control legislation, demonstrating once again he is more interested in angling for the 2016 Republican nomination for president than in keeping the residents of New Jersey safe, including those in the capital.

The vetoes came after a gun-rights group in the presidential primary state of New Hampshire had warned Christie that signing the bills passed by the New Jersey Legislature could have negative consequences if he runs for president in 2016.

At the same time, Christie ignored the advice of two former Republican New Jersey governors to sign all four gun bills. His vetoes and the stated reasons behind them are based on faulty reasoning and the hope that the right wing of the Republican Party will accept his prior apostasy on guns.

Christie vetoed a bill that would have banned the sale of Barrett .50-caliber firearms, a long-range weapon known as a "sniper gun," despite having previously supported such a ban. This semiautomatic weapon is ostensibly a hunting rifle, although some sportsmen decry its use, calling it a case of "overkill."

His rationale for the veto, in addition to not wanting to deprive the sportsmen who use them, was that it would outlaw a weapon that had never been used in a crime in New Jersey. But they have been used elsewhere in the commission of crimes, including homicides. Must the people of New Jersey now wait for such a crime to happen before he deems it necessary to step in?

Christie also conditionally vetoed a bill that would create a so-called smart card to overhaul the way New Jersey issues firearm identification cards, require a firearm identification card to buy ammunition and mandate safety training for new gun owners. Christie said he vetoed the bill because the technology for such a smart card did not exist yet. If tech companies saw a market for it, they would quickly develop it.

A bill requiring the state to report additional data on guns and gun crimes to the federal government also was conditionally vetoed. Christie said part of the measure would have violated federal requirements, including the one that bans the public disclosure of trace data information that law enforcement entities receive.

Christie did sign a bill that establishes a School Security Task Force, a 15-member body made up of members from the educational, security and law enforcement communities.

It is not enough that New Jersey already has some of the toughest gun control laws in the nation. With gun violence all around him, Christie must do all he can to keep weapons out of the hands of criminals and terrorists alike - regardless of the political consequences.

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Christie leaves gun in holster

On Thursday, the Christie administration announced it would be deploying state troopers in Trenton's 'war zone' to stem the city's bloodiest year on record ? 30 homicides and more than 150 shootings

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